Colleen

The next morning I roused Ma from her deep slumber with the smell of breakfast cooking on the stove. "Colleen, that smells wonderful."

"Thanks, Ma," I answered back with a slight smile.

"What time is it?" Ma inquired

"Half past seven, I think."

Oh dear, I heard ma mummer to herself, I really didn't mean to sleep for so long. Guess I was more tired than I thought. Best get up now. "Thanks," she replied as she shed the warm quilt for her wrapper.

Just as soon as Ma rose, Brian came in all smiles. I could see he was carrying a basket his arms and remembered how much he had wanted to share his planting story with her, a moment later I heard them talking.

"Mornin', Ma," Brian called out as he came inside with his basket of eggs.

"Morning, Brian," Michaela replied with a smile as she brushed through her long auburn hair. I looked over for a moment and she seemed lost in her own thoughts. "Hey, Ma, I got somethin' to tell ya," Brian called out interrupting her thoughts.

"What's that?" she answered back, unsure if she was relived for the interruption or not.

"Sully helped me plant one of those acorns down by the creek. Said we can go back and watch it grow. Sure hope it grows real big."

"That's wonderful, Brian. I'm happy you gave the acorn new life." She walked over to her son and gave him a hug.

"I was thinkin', he continued, "that maybe Sully would let me plant one by the new homestead."

"I don't see why not," she replied. "Trees are wonderful things to have".

"Good," he replied before taking off to fetch his acorns.

"You look tired, Ma. Have you been feeling alright?" I asked once we were alone.

"I feel emotionally drained," Ma replied and then added, "I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."

I nodded in understanding, Ma had wanted so much to operate on Miss Dorothy, and when she objected at first that was devastating. I'm glad she's gonna be ok though, after the operation and all.

"Ma, can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure, what is it?" Ma inquired

"Jared and Becky asked me the other day to come down the creek with them to play a game. I dunno if I want to or not."

"Colleen, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable doing anything with your friends. When you're ready, you'll know it's alright to join them and have fun. Just try to make good decisions."

"Thanks, Ma. I will do that." She always knows what to say to make me feel better and I love her for it. I hope she never stops being my mother even if I don't want her to be at times.

Once the bacon had finished cooking, I took it off the stove and placed the hot pan on the table with a cloth underneath, then got the biscuits out of the oven and put those on the table as well. Breakfast smells so good, and I'm getting hungry all of a sudden. Thankfully, Brian had left the basket of eggs inside. I picked through those and cracked the ones I wanted to use right into the frying pan.

While I was finishing up breakfast, Sully showed up. I watched as Ma opened the door and blushed as he smiled down at her. She's real lucky to have a found such a wonderful man. He never looks at anyone else or anywhere he shouldn't.

"Breakfast is ready," I called out minutes later, once the eggs had finished. Nice thing about a hot stove is whatever you put on it doesn't take as long to cook. I thought about how much I enjoyed having my family around me. Their love helped me get through a lot in life and for that I was grateful.

Brian was so eager to ask Sully about planting an acorn near the new homestead that I thought he was gonna burst with excitement. First chance he got the question was out, "Hey Sully, can we plant one of the acorns near the new homestead?"

"Sure," Sully answered between bites of egg.

"Thanks," Brian replied. "When can we go?"

"How 'bout after school one day, sound good?" Sully answered back.

"Sure does," Brian replied before I watched him clear his dishes and head off to get ready for school. I knew he'd be counting down the hours till the planting day came.

I was a little nervous about heading back to school. Jared would be looking for an answer and I'd best give him one. Maybe I'll tell him yes, it would be nice to spend some time with him. On the other hand…never mind. If Becky's going maybe it won't be so bad.

Colleen

I clutched my books in my arms as I watched Jared try and describe the game of knurr and spell. It seemed easy, just try and hit the knurr the farthest. Only thing I couldn't make out was how we were supposed to hit it with the spell.

"Sure is awful small, how are we supposed to hit it?" Alice asked arms crossed under her chest. "Wouldn't a bigger ball make it easier to hit? And sides having it dangle from a string isn't gonna to help much either."

"Easy," Jared replied with a confident smile. I think he was just tryin' to impress us with his skills. His attempt to get the knurr a far distance failed. I watched as he missed the first swing and on the second the knurr skipped a little ways down the path before landing in a small hole.

Paul and Alice laughed at him, "That all you got to show?" Paul asked.

"I've seen balls go farther than that," Alice remarked.

"Maybe you oughta try again," I suggested hoping maybe things might turn out better. It did look easy until you were the one swingin'. I remember Pa teaching Brian how to play baseball and watching him miss. Alice and Paul gave me funny looks as if to say, Are you serious? He's terrible. Thankfully Jared tried again and this time the knurr went much further.

"Alright, now it's my turn," said Paul seeming confident as he removed his jacket. I watched as he suffered the same fate as Jared on his first few tries. By the third try he'd hit it clear over the creek and into the bushes on the other side.

"Nice hit, Paul," said Alice seeming impressed. I could tell it was just flattery, but Paul ate it up. "Thanks, Alice." He was smiling like an idiot as he walked over and handed her the spell.

"Think they care for each other?" Becky whispered in my ear. I looked over at Paul and Alice, remembering the time she told Richard there was something in her eye and then kissed him. I shrugged and whispered back, "We know how Alice is, but I think Paul cares for her more." Becky smiled back at me in understanding.

I watched as Alice stepped up, taking careful aim with the long spell before she hit the small knurr a fair distance. She was smiling proudly at the end as if to say "See boys, that's how it's done."

"Nice job, Alice," Jared called out. He seemed to have forgotten his mishaps for the moment. Next thing I knew Alice was making her way towards me, "You're turn, Colleen." I set my books down and nervously took the spell from her. Please don't let me embarrass myself.

I walked over to where the knurr had been placed noticing at how small it was and wondering how I was gonna hit it. Alice made it look easy, and I hoped I could do the same. I carefully took aim keeping my eye on the knurr as I swung the spell back and then proceeded to hit it. I looked up and saw Alice, Jared, Paul, and Becky all looking up at the sky trying to follow the knurr to see where it would land. For a moment, I felt a sense of joy thinking I'd really hit it far; only to find out I had come just short of Alice's shot.

Becky was next, and she was all smiles as I handed her the spell. "You did good, Colleen," she said. "Hope I can to just as well." I tried to hide how I felt and answered as happily as I could, "I'm sure you will, Becky," I added and smiled slightly before she took off. I watched her not only hit the knurr; but the string it hung on, too. While it went a good distance, hitting the string had hampered things a bit.

"Guess I need to practice more," Becky remarked as some of the joy left her face. "We all do," I chimed in feeling the same way. Games are great fun, but when learning, there are bound to be errors. Alice, however, had clearly won the game by sending her knurr the farthest distance.

On the way home, Paul and Jared chatted endlessly about doing it again sometime soon. I walked quietly along with Becky wanting to only go home for some peace and quiet to read.

Brian

I came out of school carrying my books looking out into the meadow for Sully. He promised me he'd be there after school to take me out to the new homestead. I made sure I put my remaining acorns in my pocket before leaving for school.

"Sully," I called out as I ran towards him, a big smile upon my face.

"Ready ta go?" He put his arm around me as we started walking, Wolf close at our heels.

"Sure am," I replied, eager to get going. He led me over to the wagon and I climbed aboard while Wolf jumped up into the back.

"Hope ya don't mind if we work on the homestead a little after plantin'," Sully said as we started off. "I just picked up some lumber from Robert E that I wanna drop off."

"I don't mind," I answered back. He had been working hard on our new home and I was especially excited to be getting my own room. Sleeping inside with Colleen was too cramped and I much preferred the barn, but even things got pretty drafty there.

"Good. Where'd ya think you might wanna plant one of your acorns?" Sully asked me as we got closer. I dug in my pocket and pulled out the acorns I had left, staring at them for inspiration. Maybe these acorns can talk to me like the Spirits do and tell me where to put 'em.

"It's ok if you don't know yet," he added as if he sensed that I didn't have an answer just yet. I turned a smiled up at him, "Thanks."

The day was nice and I could see Sully had a good start on the foundation. Some months back things were marked with twine and posts, but now there was a hole with stones surrounding it. To one side I noted a place that jutted out. "Is that gonna be the chimney?" I asked.

"Sure is," he replied as he hopped down from the wagon. I took one more look and climbed down myself.

The boards were long and heavy to carry, but somehow we managed to carry them all from the wagon. We placed each board in a neat stack near the foundation. "There'll be a wooden floor inside," he told me, "But I'm not ready yet to put that in." "Can't wait to see it when it's done," I added and meant it.

As we sat, I looked out at the view in front of me. Endless land surrounded by mountains and valleys with trees. It was a beautiful sight, and soon I'd be waking up each morning to see it. "Where're ya gonna put the barn?" I asked out of curiosity. "Right there," Sully pointed straight ahead. "A little distance from the homestead but not far, and I'm plannin' to put a fence around it, too."

"Sounds great," I added as I tried to picture a large barn in front of me with a fence surrounding it. "Bet the horses will enjoy being outside when they can."

"Animals oughta be free to move about, wouldn't want to keep 'em caged up." Sully's words reminded me of the eagle I bought from Loren to set free. A caged up animal was certainly not a happy one. "These acorns probably want to be free, too," I said as I took them out of my pocket and got on my feet. He smiled at me as if he was thinking the same thing.

I walked over to where the barn would be and knelt down to put one of the acorns in the ground. Sully found a stick nearby for me to dig with, while he used his tomahawk. "'Fraid it ain't much of a hoe, but it'll have to do."

"Just so long as it gets in the ground is all that matters," I replied. "After all, we used a stick and your hands down by the creek."

"Sure did and it worked real well."

"Yep." I then plopped the acorn into the misshapen hole and helped Sully cover it back up. "Grow strong and big," I whispered before getting up and moving towards the homestead making sure I wasn't too close. When I got to where I wanted to be, I stopped and knelt down again. He was right there to help me dig another hole and put another acorn into the ground.

After we planted the last acorn into the ground Sully stopped and told me a story about a Coyote who Dances with a Star and how he was given several lives.* "Like the star in the story, you're givin' the acorn several lives. It'll grow up and give life to a tree, which'll then produce more acorns to be dropped and planted. You'll also be givin' the birds a home, too."

Unable to speak, I smiled at Sully and hugged him. Everything he said rang true, and I couldn't wait to see all the great things my trees were going to do.

Michaela

I was just finishing up at the clinic, putting the last of my papers away when he appeared at the door. "Sully, I wasn't expecting you…." I trailed off as he came all the way inside and closer to me, enough that I could look straight into the blue depths of his eyes and get lost in them. "Missed ya," he answered in a whisper, just before planting a soft kiss on my lips. "Missed you, too," I admitted shyly; as his arms enveloped me.

"Was out with Brian today at the homestead helpin' him plant acorns. Got me thinkin' about the trees that are gonna grow and all the special things that might happen under 'em.

"Special things?" My curiosity was peeked, and I sensed he was up to something. "Like takin' you out for a picnic under one, just the two of us." His words came out like a whisper on the wind, causing me to close my eyes in the moment as my senses took over. "That so?" My words sounded breathy, something I hadn't quite gotten used to yet. "Mmm."

"Would be kinda nice, dontcha think? Just the two of us, alone." Alone, I thought, as my memories shifted back to the time he rescued me from the dog soldiers. I could think of no one I wanted to be with more than him, and holding my battered and bruised body. "Maybe," I blushed as he placed another kiss on my lips.

"Just think about it, k?" That simple request coupled with the look in his eyes was difficult to argue with. "I'll think about it," I promised as I tried not to give in just yet. As much as I didn't want to be closed for a day, Sully had told me not long ago how he wanted to get back to courting. Maybe this would be a good chance for us to do just that.

He smiled at me, causing my face to flush all over again. "Maybe we'd best go," I stammered as I tried to gain my composure. "I'll just get my bag and coat."

"Sure thing," he answered as he stepped out of the way and allowed me to gather my things. As we exited, I spotted Colleen sitting alone on the bench outside. "Is something wrong?" I asked with some concern. "It's nothin'," she replied in what looked like an attempt to brush things off. There was clearly something wrong; and it didn't look like she wanted to tell me.

"Colleen, if something is bothering you, it's ok to talk about it. However, I do understand if there are things you would rather not discuss. I do want you to know that I am here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Ma." I couldn't tell if she appreciated that or not, but she did seem more at ease, which was good. "How about we head home now?"

"Sounds good," she replied as I watched her get up and head towards the wagon. Sully and I followed and a moment later Brian ran up from the store and joined us. "Had to get something from Mr. Bray. I'm all set," he said in a rush of breath.

"Let's go home," Sully called out as he steered the wagon in the direction of home.

*Source: .